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You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is:

• under 16
• under 20 if they stay in approved education or training

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child.

There’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

By claiming Child Benefit, you can get:

• an allowance paid to you for each child - you’ll usually get it every 4 weeks
• National Insurance credits which count towards your State Pension
• a National Insurance number for your child without them having to apply for one - they’ll usually get the number shortly before they turn 16 years old

If you choose not to get Child Benefit payments, you should still make a claim to get the other advantages.

Child Benefit and protecting your State Pension

You’ll get National Insurance credits automatically if you claim Child Benefit and your child is under 12.

These credits count towards your State Pension, so you do not have gaps in your National Insurance record if either:

• you’re not working
• you do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions

If you do not need the National Insurance credits, your family may be eligible to get the support instead. Either:

• your husband, wife or partner can apply to transfer the credits
• a different family member who provides care for your child can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits

If your circumstances change

You must report any change of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office.

There are 2 Child Benefit rates.

Who the allowance is for	Rate (weekly)
Eldest or only child	£26.05
Additional children	£17.25 per child

You must contact the Child Benefit Office if you’re paid too much or too little.

If families split up

If a family splits up, you get £26.05 a week for the eldest child.

If you have 2 children and one lives with you and the other lives with
someone else (for example, your ex-partner), you’ll each get £26.05 a week.

If you both claim for the same child, only one of you will get Child Benefit for them.

If you’re entitled to Child Benefit for any other children, you’ll get £17.25 for each child.

If families join together

If you move in with a partner who also claims Child Benefit, you get £26.05 for the eldest child in the household. You get £17.25 for any younger children.

You and your partner can claim for different children. If you live together, you cannot both claim at the higher rate - you may have to pay back some of the money if you do.

You must report the change to your family circumstances.

If you or your partner earn over the threshold

If either you or your partner’s ‘adjusted net income’ is over the threshold, you may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any personal allowances and less things like Gift Aid. Your total taxable income includes interest from savings and dividends.

If you have to pay the charge, you can still get the other advantages of Child Benefit like National Insurance credits. The charge will not be more than the amount you get from Child Benefit payments.

If both you and your partner have an individual income that’s over the threshold, then whoever has the higher adjusted net income is responsible for paying the charge.

If either you or your partner has an individual income of £20,000 or more above the threshold (£10,000 or more before April 2024), you’ll be charged the same amount as you make through Child Benefit payments. You’ll end up with no extra money from Child Benefit.

You’ll need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return each tax year to pay the charge.

You can make a claim and opt out of getting payments if you do not want to pay the charge. You can still get the other advantages provided by Child Benefit, like National Insurance credits.

If you’re under 16

You can either claim yourself or someone responsible for you can claim on your behalf. You’ll usually get more if you claim yourself.

Child Benefit is usually paid every 4 weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

You can get the money paid into any account, apart from:

• a Post Office card account
• a Nationwide cashbuilder account (sort code 07 00 30) in someone else’s name

You can only get the money paid into one account.

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child.

You normally qualify for Child Benefit if you’re responsible for a child under 16 and you live in the UK.

You’ll usually be responsible for a child if either:

• you live with them
• you’re paying at least the same amount as Child Benefit (or the equivalent in kind) towards looking after them - for example on food, clothes or pocket money

Eligibility rules are different if your child:

• goes into hospital or care

• lives with someone else

If your child is 16 or over

You’ll normally still qualify for Child Benefit if your child is under 20 and they stay in approved education or training.

You can apply for Child Benefit to continue for 20 weeks if a 16 or 17 year old leaves education or training and registers with either:

• a government-sponsored careers service

• the armed services

Find out more about Child Benefit when your child turns 16.

Fostering a child

You’ll get Child Benefit if you foster a child, as long as the local council is not paying anything towards their accommodation or maintenance.

Adopting a child

You can claim Child Benefit as soon as any child you’re adopting comes to live with you - you do not have to wait until the adoption process is complete.

You might be able to get Child Benefit for a period before the adoption - contact the Child Benefit Office to find out.

Looking after someone else’s child

You may be able to get Child Benefit if you’ve got an informal arrangement to look after a friend or relative’s child.

You might not qualify if your local council is paying towards the child’s accommodation or maintenance - contact the Child Benefit Office to find out.

Two people cannot get Child Benefit for the same child. If you and someone else are responsible for the same child, agree between yourselves who will get Child Benefit. If you cannot agree, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will decide who will get it.

You may also be entitled to Guardian’s Allowance if you’re responsible for a child who has lost one or both of their parents.

Living abroad

You may be able to get Child Benefit if you go to live in certain countries or if you’re a Crown servant.

If you have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

If you have settled status, you can claim Child Benefit.

If you have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

You can claim Child Benefit if any of the following apply.

If you’re working

You must be earning or expect to earn above the primary threshold (PT) for employees paying National Insurance for 3 continuous months.

If you’re looking for work

You can continue to claim Child Benefit as a jobseeker for 91 days, unless you get a job offer.

If you have sufficient resources to support yourself financially

You can claim Child Benefit if you have sufficient resources to support yourself and your family financially. This means you may not be eligible if you claim Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or Universal Credit.

If you’re studying

You must have sufficient resources to support yourself financially.

If you’re a family member of an EEA or Swiss national who has a right to reside

You can claim Child Benefit if you are:

• their spouse or civil partner

• their child or grandchild who is dependent on them or under 21

• their parent or grandparent who is dependent on them

If you move to the UK

Check if you can get Child Benefit if you move to the UK and you have the right to reside.

If your child starts work or gets benefits in their own right

You’ll stop getting Child Benefit if your child:

• starts paid work for 24 hours or more a week and is no longer in approved education or training

• starts an apprenticeship in England

• starts getting certain benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit

Check what counts as approved education or training when your child turns 16.

You can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you.

Child Benefit can be backdated for up to 3 months from the date you make the claim.

Deciding who should claim

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child, so you need to decide whether it’s better for you or the other parent to claim. 

Whoever claims will get National Insurance credits towards their state pension. The credits can fill gaps in your record if you’re not working or do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions.

You and your partner can claim for different children. If you live together, only one of you can claim at the higher rate, for the eldest child in the household. If you both claim at the higher rate, you may have to pay back some of the money.

If you’re under 16

You can either claim yourself or someone responsible for you can claim on your behalf. You’ll usually get more if you claim yourself.

Make a claim online

Use this service to make a claim for Child Benefit or to add another child to an existing claim.

Watch this video to find out more about how to claim Child Benefit online.

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Before you start

You’ll need:

• your child’s birth or adoption certificate, if you have it
• your bank or building society details
• your National Insurance number - if you have one
• your partner’s National Insurance number (if you have a partner)

You can order a new birth or adoption certificate if you’ve lost the original.

If you do not have the birth or adoption certificate

You can still claim without a birth or adoption certificate. This will take longer. You may be asked to send the certificate as proof, after you’ve registered.

If successful, your claim will be backdated for up to 3 months from the date you make the claim.

If you do not send the certificate when asked, you may need to start the claim again.

If your child’s birth was registered outside the UK

You’ll need to send:

• your child’s original birth or adoption certificate
• your child’s passport or the travel document they used to enter the UK

Any documents you send will usually be returned in 4 weeks.

If you do not have the certificate you need, make a claim now and send the certificate once you’ve got it.

Other ways to claim

If you cannot apply online, you can:

• claim by post
• claim by phone

Claiming Child Benefit for someone else

You may be able to manage someone else’s Child Benefit claim.

You must report any change of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office. These include changes to your:

• family life, for example getting married
• child’s life, for example leaving education or training

Change who gets Child Benefit

Contact the Child Benefit Office if you want someone else to claim Child Benefit, for example, your spouse or partner.

After you’ve done this, tell the other person to make a new claim.

Opt out or restart payments

You can make a claim and choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments at any time. For example, you might opt out because your annual income is over £60,000 and you do not want to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

You’ll still get the other advantages from Child Benefit, like National Insurance credits.

You can restart your Child Benefit payment at any time.

Contact the Child Benefit Office if you have any questions.

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

Make a complaint

You can complain to the Child Benefit Office if you’re unhappy with the way you’ve been treated.